Facilities and Spatial Data for CSIR

This flyer is to assist those people who are responsible for their departmental class scheduling and CSIR maintenance in understanding the critical nature of accurate facilities data. While there are only a few pieces of data relevant to this discussion, there are serious repercussions for the campus if they are reported incorrectly.

What repercussions are there for not having accurate data?

The State Legislature requires annually a number of analytical tables which are generated from the FDX and CSIR, and when the CSIR data are filled out incorrectly the campus underreports actual usage and incorrectly reports on our space requirements. One example is provided below:

The Utilization Tables are reports that account for enrollment in every scheduled (general assignment and departmentally controlled) classroom, seminar, and class laboratory listed in the FDX. Thus, if you do not show instruction happening in the proper building/room, the campus cannot claim usage. The effect is to report to the State Legislature that our campus has excess instructional space, as it appears we’re not using what we have.

Who is the facilities data proprietor and who is responsible for the systems of record?

Facilities data for the campus are officially contained in the Facilities Database System (FDX). This database, along with related floor plans, is maintained by the Office of Space Management and Capital Programs (SMCP) according to Systemwide standards set by the UC Office of the President. The FDX data are updated annually to show the use of all space owned or leased by Berkeley campus units as of the third week of classes in the fall semester. These data, collected from all campuses, are in turn forwarded to the California State Legislature.

What facilities data are relevant to scheduling and CSIR?

The relevant data in this database are the building name, room number, and room use. To see a variety of facilities information you may go to the FDX website http://fdx.vcbf.berkeley.edu/ or to the FASDI website http://fasdi.vcbf.berkeley.edu/. You may also contact Patty Mead or Paula Milano for additional help and directions on using these on-line systems.

Building Name

A building name must match, as closely as possible, the building names in the official FDX data. Common problems include: using informal nicknames for buildings when they should be using addresses (Banway as opposed to 2111 Bancroft); placing the street address in the room number field (room: 2111 and building: Bancroft); using a name for a room rather than the room number; choosing “no facility” when obviously the class will be held in a facility.

Room Number

While it is acknowledged there are room numbering problems still to be resolved, room numbers are nevertheless crucial to the accuracy of the data. [Room numbers are an ongoing issue that the Facilities and Spatial Data Integration (FASDI) committee is trying to solve. Examples of problems being reviewed include numbers not being painted on doors or the ones there are incorrect.] If there is a room numbering problem, contact us and we’ll help solve it.

Room Use

Tied to individual room numbers are codes indicating room use, such as “faculty office” or “seminar room.” There have been occurrences where classes appear to have happened in “closets” because of incorrect room number usage. Other times, when we can only count usage if the instruction occurs in a room coded in the FDX as a classroom or lab, the campus loses actual usage data because the CSIR records indicate the instruction is occurring elsewhere. Finally, the CSIR data itself are used when SMCP evaluates space – if your department reports a room as a class lab but there is little to no usage shown in the CSIR records, it brings up the question of what your department is using the space for.

Please help us solve these facilities-related data entry problems.